0000000000917833
AUTHOR
Caterina La Cascia
showing 127 related works from this author
Diagnosi e gestione dell'esordio psicotico nell'infanzia e nell'adolescenza
2017
Nonostante la schizofrenia sia generalmente diagnosticata nella prima età adulta, circa il 4% dei casi provenienti da una coorte di nascita manifesterà il disturbo prima dei 18 anni. La Schizofrenia a Esordio Precoce (Early Onset Schizophrenia, EOS), a prescindere che si presenti nell’infanzia (Childhood Onset Schizophrenia, COS) o nell’adolescenza (Adolescent Onset Schizophrenia, AOS), è comunque associata a maggiori anomalie premorbose e decorso clinico ed esito psicosociale scadenti. Questi dati sottolineano l’importanza della diagnosi precoce e di trattamenti efficaci e sicuri per la schizofrenia in età infantile e adolescenziale. Il trattamento di bambini e adolescenti affetti da schiz…
O4.8. CAN YOU SPOT EMOTIONS? FACIAL EMOTION RECOGNITION AND GENETIC RISK FOR PSYCHOSIS
2019
Background Facial emotion recognition (FER) is a key component of social cognition which has been found consistently impaired in schizophrenia. Deficits in global facial affect recognition have been also found in First Episode Psychosis (FEP) with the same severity as at further stages, especially for anger recognition. Literature to date has shown intermediate emotion recognition ability in either people with family history for psychotic disorders and unaffected relatives of psychotic patients, in a continuum between patients and healthy controls. Furthermore, Polygenic Risk Score (PRS) for schizophrenia has been found associated with social cognition, especially with facial emotion identi…
Lifestyles and Quality of Life of People with Mental Illness During the COVID-19 Pandemic
2023
AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the quality of life (QoL), daily lifestyle, and mental health of people suffering from a mental disorder. This study aimed to investigate the effects of the prolongation of the COVID-19 emergency on QoL and lifestyles in a sample of 100 outpatients at the Psychiatry Unit in Palermo University Hospital, Italy. QoL was measured through the 12-item Short Form Survey and the COV19-Impact on Quality of Life. Lifestyle changes during the pandemic were measured through the lifestyle change questionnaire. The majority of participants reported a great impact of COVID-19 on the QoL, and almost half reported worsened lifestyles. Worsened li…
Synergistic effects of childhood adversity and polygenic risk in first-episode psychosis
2023
The European Network of National Schizophrenia Networks Studying Gene-Environment Interactions (EU-GEI) Project is funded by grant agreement HEALTH-F2-2010-241909 (Project EU-GEI) from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme.
Migration history and risk of psychosis: results from the multinational EU-GEI study.
2022
The European Network of National Schizophrenia Networks Studying Gene-Environment Interactions (EU-GEI) Project was funded by grant agreement Health-F2-2010-241909 (Project EU-GEI) from the European Community’s Seventh Framework programme.
Perceived major experiences of discrimination, ethnic group, and risk of psychosis in a six-country case-control study
2021
AbstractBackgroundPerceived discrimination is associated with worse mental health. Few studies have assessed whether perceived discrimination (i) is associated with the risk of psychotic disorders and (ii) contributes to an increased risk among minority ethnic groups relative to the ethnic majority.MethodsWe used data from the European Network of National Schizophrenia Networks Studying Gene-Environment Interactions Work Package 2, a population-based case−control study of incident psychotic disorders in 17 catchment sites across six countries. We calculated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the associations between perceived discrimination and psychosis using mixed-…
Plenary Session
2016
S77. JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS AND FACIAL EMOTION RECOGNITION IMPAIRMENT IN FIRST EPISODE PSYCHOSIS ACROSS EUROPE
2018
Abstract Background Jumping to conclusions (JTC) is a well-established reasoning and data gathering bias found in patients with psychosis even at illness onset (First Episode Psychosis, FEP). Preliminary work in this field focused primarily on the association with delusions, although jumping to conclusions has also been found in non-deluded schizophrenia patients after remission, and in individual with at risk mental state. Moreover, psychotic patients tend to show impairments in social cognition, struggling in identifying, processing and interpreting social clues. Deficits in facial emotion recognition (FER) – a key component of the construct – represent a well-replicated finding in schizo…
Pathological gambling in adolescence: A narrative review
2018
Pathological gambling is an emerging and increasing phenomenon in Western counties. This work is aimed at reviewing the existing literature on this topic, paying special attention to its development, course and outcome in adolescence. We will explore epidemiological data, the instruments for the diagnostic and clinical assessment, the course and the outcome of the disorder, the comorbidity with other psychiatric syndromes and disorders. The main risk factors will be described at individual, social and community level. We provide an overview of the available pharmacological and psychological treatments and we report a clinical vignette in order to describe the psychological and psychopatholo…
Female vs Males inmates: Authors' reply and sample size calculation
2019
Bruno and colleagues highlighted the relatively low absolute-percentage of psychiatric morbidity that we found in our sample, as compared to their male sample. They invited to the use of diagnostic tools, specific for personality disorders and suicidal risk factors, to better investigate these critical issues. In summary, our results showed high percentages of psychiatric morbidity (44%), especially anxiety and depression. Female inmates declared to be most stressed by the distance from family and loved ones, and they did not present any antisocial personality diagnosis. They also showed a resilient reaction to their situation, because more than a half of women requested a supportive psycho…
FIRST EPISODE PSYCHOSIS PATIENTS ACROSS EUROPE DIFFER IN INTELLECTUAL QUOTIENT (IQ) AND EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS
2018
Background Children who later develop Schizophrenia on average are more likely to present with lower IQ; this has been considered evidence for the neurodevelopmental theory of schizophrenia. Though, recent studies have shown that first episode psychosis patients with a history of cannabis use have significantly higher premorbid and current IQ compared to those who never used it. This suggests that abnormal early neurodevelopment does not explain the aetiology of all cases of Schizophrenia, leaving space to environmental hazards. The present study aims to: investigate differences in IQ, as a marker of neurodevelopment, and in exposure to environmental risk factors in a large sample first epi…
Psychometric properties of the dissociative symptoms scale (DSS) in Italian outpatients and community adults
2020
This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Dissociative Symptoms Scale (DSS) among Italian adults from outpatient and community samples. The DSS is a self-report measure of clinically relevant dissociation in adults. An Italian translation of the DSS was administered with measures of lifetime traumatic experiences, psychoform dissociation, and somatoform dissociation to 175 psychiatric outpatients and 423 individuals from the community. The DSS scores for outpatient and community adults were significantly different and showed good internal reliability, good convergent and construct validity, and a four-factor structure (depersonalization and derealization, gaps in awareness …
Cannabis Use and the Risk for Psychosis and Affective Disorders.
2019
Objective: This review discusses the relationship between cannabis use and psychotic, bipolar, depressive, and anxiety disorders, as well as suicide. It summarizes epidemiological evidence from cross-sectional and long-term prospective studies and considers possible etiological mechanisms. Methods: Systematic reviews and methodologically robust studies in the field (from inception to February 2019) were identified using a comprehensive search of Medline, PsychINFO, and Embase and summarized using a narrative synthesis. Results: Consistent evidence, both from observational and experimental studies, has confirmed the important role of cannabis use in the initiation and persistence of psychoti…
Validation of the Italian version of the Devaluation consumers' Scale and the Devaluation Consumers Families Scale
2016
Objectives This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Italian versions of the Devaluation of Consumers Scale (DCS) and the Devaluation of Consumer Families Scale (DCFS), twoshort-scales examining public stigma towards people with mental disorders and their relatives. Methods The scales were administered to 117 individuals with a clinical diagnosis of affective or non-affective psychoses (ICD 10 criteria F20-29, F30-33). Translation procedures were carried out according to accepted standards. Internal reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Convergent validity was evaluated in terms of correlation with the Global Functioning Scale (GAF) and with the Qu…
Duration of untreated psychosis in first-episode psychosis is not associated with common genetic variants for major psychiatric conditions: results f…
2021
The EU-GEI Project is funded by the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement No. HEALTH-F2-2010–241909 (Project EU-GEI).
T42. JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE POLYGENIC RISK SCORE FOR INTELLIGENCE BUT NOT FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA. PRELIMINARY FINDINGS FROM THE EU-…
2019
Background Psychotic patients tend to require less evidence to make decisions compared to general population. This bias named Jumping to Conclusions (JTC) has been found at First Episode Psychosis (FEP) in schizophrenia patients and associated with proneness to psychotic-like experiences in the general population. Interesting findings showed also strong association with lower cognitive functioning in psychotic patients, which in turn has been shown as a candidate intermediate phenotype for psychosis. Overall, findings to date could suggest a shared genetic liability between the occurrence of JTC and psychosis, potentially via IQ. The present study aims to investigate whether the presence of…
Psychometric assessment using classic neuropsychological and virtual reality based test: A study in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and schizophr…
2014
Assessment of neurocognitive functioning is a critical task in clinical settings. In many disorders, cognitive impairment precedes the onset of behavioral symptoms, and cognitive decline is a major factor contributing to functional disability. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the executive functions by comparing the evaluations obtained using a neuropsychological battery with the one obtained using the virtual reality version of the Multiple Errands Test (V-MET). The study population included three groups: 10 patients affected by Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD); 10 Schizophrenic patients; 10 healthy Controls. The results identified executive problems in clinical samples.…
Cannabis users have higher premorbid IQ than other patients with first onset psychosis.
2013
Background: A number of studies have reported that patients with psychosis who use cannabis have better cognitive performance than those who do not. This is surprising as cannabis can impair cognition in healthy subjects. An obvious question is whether the better current performance of psychotic patients who have used cannabis is a reflection of their having a higher premorbid IQ than those psychotic patients who haven't used cannabis. Aim: In a sample of patients at their first episode of psychosis, we tested the hypothesis that patients who smoked cannabis would have a higher premorbid IQ than patients who did not. Methodology: 279 participants (119 patients and 160 healthy controls) were…
The relationship of symptom dimensions with premorbid adjustment and cognitive characteristics at first episode psychosis: Findings from the EU-GEI s…
2021
Premorbid functioning and cognitive measures may reflect gradients of developmental impairment across diagnostic categories in psychosis. In this study, we sought to examine the associations of current cognition and premorbid adjustment with symptom dimensions in a large first episode psychosis (FEP) sample. We used data from the international EU-GEI study. Bifactor modelling of the Operational Criteria in Studies of Psychotic Illness (OPCRIT) ratings provided general and specific symptom dimension scores. Premorbid Adjustment Scale estimated premorbid social (PSF) and academic adjustment (PAF), and WAIS-brief version measured IQ. A MANCOVA model examined the relationship between symptom di…
Opinions about people with schizophrenia among medical students: Findings from an Italian cross-sectional study.
2020
Background: Accumulating evidence suggests that stigmatisation toward people with schizophrenia (PWS) is common among healthcare professionals and represents a major barrier to care. Aim: The study aimed at comparing the opinions about PWS among Italian medical students at different stages of education. Methods: Study participants were 234 medical students, attending either the first three-years pre-clinical or the following three-years clinical stage. Participants read an unlabelled case-vignette of schizophrenia and completed the Opinions on Mental Illness Questionnaire. Results: A greater proportion of students at the clinical stage identified schizophrenia in the clinical description, c…
O12.4. SOME OF THE INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN RISK TO DEVELOP PSYCHOSIS AMONG CANNABIS USERS CAN BE EXPLAINED BY WHERE THEY LIVE AND BY THEIR AGE AT F…
2018
Abstract Background Cannabis use remains the most widely used recreational drug worldwide. Following from several USA states legalisation policies, European countries are reconsidering their cannabis laws. While a significant amount of Epidemiological evidence has reported that cannabis use increases the risk of psychosis it is still unclear: 1) what underpins individual differences in developing a psychotic disorder following cannabis use; 2) if variations in availability of cannabis have affected rate of Psychotic disorders across Europe. Methods Using detailed data on lifetime pattern of cannabis use from the EUGEI first episode case-control study (N=2300) and the available Incidence rat…
IQ differences between patients with first episode psychosis in London and Palermo reflect differences in patterns of cannabis use.
2019
Aims: Cognitive impairment is a possible indicator of neurodevelopmental impairment, but not all psychotic patients are cognitively compromised. It has been suggested that heavy cannabis use may precipitate psychosis in those who show no such compromise. This study compares two samples of patients with first-episode psychosis and their respective non-psychotic controls, in London (UK) and Palermo (Italy), and examines whether different patterns of cannabis use are reflected in differences in IQ. Methods: The two studies used the same inclusion/exclusion criteria and instruments. The sample comprised 249 subjects from London (106 patients and 143 controls) and 247 subjects from Palermo (120 …
Educational Robotics to Improve Mathematical and Metacognitive Skills
2017
This paper describes the use of robotic kits as tools in developing mathematical and metacognitive skills, as the planning, reasoning and problem solving capabilities in young students. A sample of 30 students involved in an extracurricular laboratory based on robotics activities (10 meetings; three hours each, once a week). Quantitative and qualitative data showed that robotics activities may be intended as a new metacognitive environment that allows students to improve the attitude in mathematics, or increase the propensity to reflect on themselves and on their own learning, and higher-level control components, such as forecasting, planning, monitoring and evaluation exercises and problem…
Psychopathology and female detention at the “Pagliarelli” jail of Palermo: preliminary results
2018
Most of the studies carried out on prisoners have considered male samples or they investigated specific psychiatric disorders. The present study aims to estimate the presence of current and lifetime psychiatric disorders among female inmates. Secondary aims are to evaluate the correlation between a current psychiatric disorder and other variables, and the association with a psycho-pharmacotherapy and a request for a clinical psychological interview. The study included 25 women with a final sentence at the “Casa Circondariale Pagliarelli” from October 2016 to July 2017. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) was used to assess the presence of any current or lifetime psychia…
S118. TRANSDIAGNOSTIC SYMPTOM DIMENSIONS OF PSYCHOSIS AND THE PREDICTIVE ROLE OF PREMORBID ADJUSTMENT AND COGNITIVE CHARACTERISTICS IN THE MULTINATIO…
2020
Abstract Background A symptom dimension approach may best examine the heterogeneous expression of psychosis. However, whether and how premorbid predisposition and cognitive factors explain phenotypes variation is still debated. This study aimed to test the predictive value of combined cognition and premorbid adjustment on transdiagnostic symptom dimensions in a large sample of people suffering from the first episode of psychosis (FEP). Methods FEP patients were part of the EUGEI study. Psychopathology was rated using the OPerational CRITeria system. Multidimensional item response modelling estimate a bifactor model of psychosis by Mplus, composed of a general factor and five specific sympto…
F99. FIRST EPISODE PSYCHOSIS PATIENTS WHO USED CANNABIS DEVELOP THEIR ILLNESS AT A SIGNIFICANTLY YOUNGER AGE THAN THOSE WHO NEVER USED CONSISTENTLY A…
2018
Abstract Background Patients presenting to psychiatric services with their first episode of psychosis (FEP) report higher rates of previous cannabis use than the general population (Donoghue et al., 2011; Myles, Myles and Large, 2016). Evidence suggested that patients suffering from psychosis with a history of cannabis use have an earlier age of onset of psychosis (AOP) than those who never used it (Di Forti et al., 2013). We aim to investigate if the reported association between use of cannabis and AOP is consistent across different countries, once having taken into account different patterns of cannabis use (i.e. frequency of use and age at first use). Methods We analysed data on patterns…
Internet out of control: The role of self-esteem and personality traits in pathological internet use
2017
Objective: Young people seem particularly likely to develop pathological Internet use (PIU) with the use of social networks, chat, and videos. Sensation-seeking, neuroticism, introversion, and low self-esteem are personality features frequently associated with the disease. The aim of this study was to replicate and to extend previous findings by exploring the combined effect of personality traits and self-esteem on PIU. Method: A sample of 652 male students attending vocational technical schools in Palermo (Southern Italy) was assessed using the following measures: the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire to evaluate personality traits; the Multidimensional Self-Concept Scale to asse…
A Cross-Sectional Survey on Burnout Prevalence and Profile in the Sicilian Population of Ambulance Driver-Rescuers.
2020
AbstractIntroduction:Burnout is present at a high rate in emergency medicine. The ambulance driver-rescuers, who furnish first aid to the victims, are the non-medical part of the Italian 118-service staff. There is a lack of research on burnout risk in Italian Emergency Medical Services and, particularly, for this category of workers. The two Italian studies, including a little group of ambulance driver-rescuers, reported inconsistent findings.Hypothesis:This survey investigated for the first time the prevalence and exact profile of burnout in a large sample of Italian driver-rescuers. As a secondary aim, the study described how the items of the Italian version of the Maslach Burnout Invent…
Pre-training inter-rater reliability of clinical instruments in an international psychosis research project.
2021
International audience
The impact of healthy lifestyles on academic achievement among Italian adolescents
2021
AbstractWe evaluated the association between healthy lifestyles and academic achievement in a sample of 373 adolescent Italian students. Specifically, we investigated on the association between use of illegal drugs, habits to practice a regular physical, typology of diet, levels of social support, levels of self-esteem, level of Internet use, perceived stress and amount of sleep and academic achievement. Academic performance was positively correlated with good diet, perceived social support, and self-esteem. A statistically significant difference emerged between students with high versus low correct grade point averages in relation to lifetime and current use of illegal drugs. Last, academi…
Jumping To Conclusions, General Intelligence, And Psychosis Liability: Findings From The Multi-Centre EU-GEI Case-Control Study
2019
AbstractBackgroundThe “jumping to conclusions” (JTC) bias is associated with both psychosis and general cognition but their relationship is unclear. In this study, we set out to clarify the relationship between the JTC bias, IQ, psychosis and polygenic liability to schizophrenia and IQ.Methods817 FEP patients and 1294 population-based controls completed assessments of general intelligence (IQ), and JTC (assessed by the number of beads drawn on the probabilistic reasoning “beads” task) and provided blood or saliva samples from which we extracted DNA and computed polygenic risk scores for IQ and schizophrenia.ResultsThe estimated proportion of the total effect of case/control differences on J…
The Occurrence of Diseases and Related Factors in a Center for Asylum Seekers in Italy
2016
Italy is the main recipient of asylum seekers in the European region, and Sicily is their first point of arrival. This geographical position creates a large job for Health Authorities to identify and deal with the health of immigrants. This study evaluates the prevalence of disease among asylum seekers, assessing which are associated factors.A cross-sectional study was conducted to analyse demographic and clinical data in an Acceptance Centres for Asylum Seekers from February 2012 to May 2013. All variables that were found to be significant on unvariable analysis for the most frequent pathologies were included in a multivariable logistic regression model.Post-traumatic stress disorders with…
Cognitive thought diary in supportive psychology for people undergoing radiotherapy: a feasibility study
2017
BAC KGROUND: Radiation therapy (RT ) has become one of the most widely-used and efficient treatments for cancer; nevertheless, people who undergo radiotherapy suffer the physical and psychological consequences of this stressful treatment, in addition to the psychosocial distress related to cancer. However, a Radiotherapy Unit is often a place where several patients crowd in from various hospitals with restricted timetables and, for logistic reasons, it is not easy to provide regular psychological sessions for each one. It is important to find a setting that allows us the involvement of the largest number of patients referred to the unit. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the feasibility a…
Treated Incidence of Psychotic Disorders in the Multinational EU-GEI Study
2018
Importance: Psychotic disorders contribute significantly to the global disease burden, yet the latest international incidence study of psychotic disorders was conducted in the 1980s. Objectives: To estimate the incidence of psychotic disorders using comparable methods across 17 catchment areas in 6 countries and to examine the variance between catchment areas by putative environmental risk factors. Design, Setting, and Participants: An international multisite incidence study (the European Network of National Schizophrenia Networks Studying Gene-Environment Interactions) was conducted from May 1, 2010, to April 1, 2015, among 2774 individuals from England (2 catchment areas), France (3 catch…
The Relationship Between Dissociative Experiences and Cannabis Use: a Systematic Review
2019
Purpose of Review This systematic review aimed to investigate the relation between cannabis use and dissociation. Recent Findings Four analytical and 14 descriptive cross-sectional studies were included. There is no variation in the rates of cannabis use among individuals with dissociative experiences compared with the general population. In addition, the prevalence of dissociative disorders in subjects using cannabis is not different from those not using cannabis. The majority of the studies employed inadequate sampling procedures and a concurrent or retrospective assessment of the two variables, which might have increased the risk of bias, and only a few of them controlled for potential c…
A computational approach for the assessment of executive functions in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder
2019
Previous studies on obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) showed impairments in executive domains, particularly in cognitive inhibition. In this perspective, the use of virtual reality showed huge potential in the assessment of executive functions; however, unfortunately, to date, no study on the assessment of these patients took advantage of the use of virtual environments. One of the main problems faced within assessment protocols is the use of a limited number of variables and tools when tailoring a personalized program. The main aim of this study was to provide a heuristic decision tree for the future development of tailored assessment protocols. To this purpose, we conducted a study that…
La qualità della vita e il rischio psicopatologico dei pazienti ustionati: una revisione narrativa della letteratura
2016
Nonostante i progressi della medicina e della chirurgia, i traumi da ustione a tutt’oggi rappresentano una causa significativa di menomazione e disabilita, comportano una significativa riduzione della qualita della vita e sono associati a diversi esiti psicopatologici, inclusi la depressione e il disturbo da stress post-traumatico. Questa revisione narrativa non sistematica della letteratura si propone di presentare le evidenze piu significative relative alla qualita della vita, ai sintomi psicopatologici, ai relativi fattori protettivi e di rischio, agli strumenti di valutazione e agli interventi psicologici rivolti ai pazienti ustionati. I risultati mostrano che la storia naturale delle l…
O2.1. FIRST EPISODE PSYCHOSIS PATIENTS ACROSS EUROPE DIFFER IN INTELLECTUAL QUOTIENT (IQ) AND EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS
2018
Abstract Background Children who later develop Schizophrenia on average are more likely to present with lower IQ; this has been considered evidence for the neurodevelopmental theory of schizophrenia. Though, recent studies have shown that first episode psychosis patients with a history of cannabis use have significantly higher premorbid and current IQ compared to those who never used it. This suggests that abnormal early neurodevelopment does not explain the aetiology of all cases of Schizophrenia, leaving space to environmental hazards. The present study aims to: investigate differences in IQ, as a marker of neurodevelopment, and in exposure to environmental risk factors in a large sample …
FIRST EPISODE PSYCHOSIS PATIENTS WHO USED CANNABIS DEVELOP THEIR ILLNESS AT A SIGNIFICANTLY YOUNGER AGE THAN THOSE WHO NEVER USED CONSISTENTLY ACROSS…
2018
Background: Patients presenting to psychiatric services with their first episode of psychosis (FEP) report higher rates of previous cannabis use than the general population (Donoghue et al., 2011; Myles, Myles and Large, 2016). Evidence suggested that patients suffering from psychosis with a history of cannabis use have an earlier age of onset of psychosis (AOP) than those who never used it (Di Forti et al., 2013). We aim to investigate if the reported association between use of cannabis and AOP is consistent across different countries, once having taken into account different patterns of cannabis use (i.e. frequency of use and age at first use). Methods: We analysed data on patterns of lif…
Daily use, especially of high-potency cannabis, drives the earlier onset of psychosis in cannabis users.
2013
UNLABELLED: Cannabis use is associated with an earlier age of onset of psychosis (AOP). However, the reasons for this remain debated. METHODS: We applied a Cox proportional hazards model to 410 first-episode psychosis patients to investigate the association between gender, patterns of cannabis use, and AOP. RESULTS: Patients with a history of cannabis use presented with their first episode of psychosis at a younger age (mean years = 28.2, SD = 8.0; median years = 27.1) than those who never used cannabis (mean years = 31.4, SD = 9.9; median years = 30.0; hazard ratio [HR] = 1.42; 95% CI: 1.16-1.74; P < .001). This association remained significant after controlling for gender (HR = 1.39; 95% …
SOME OF THE INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN RISK TO DEVELOP PSYCHOSIS AMONG CANNABIS USERS CAN BE EXPLAINED BY WHERE THEY LIVE AND BY THEIR AGE AT FIRST USE
2018
Background Cannabis use remains the most widely used recreational drug worldwide. Following from several USA states legalisation policies, European countries are reconsidering their cannabis laws. While a significant amount of Epidemiological evidence has reported that cannabis use increases the risk of psychosis it is still unclear: 1) what underpins individual differences in developing a psychotic disorder following cannabis use; 2) if variations in availability of cannabis have affected rate of Psychotic disorders across Europe. Methods Using detailed data on lifetime pattern of cannabis use from the EUGEI first episode case-control study (N=2300) and the available Incidence rates of Psy…
The efficacy of a functional therapy program for gambling disorder: A Pilot study
2018
Background: Despite the great progress achieved by treatment approaches for Gambling Disorder (GD) the relevance of studying efficacious therapies still remains high. This pilot study aims at the evaluation of the efficacy of a standardized protocol based on Functional theory for GD. Functional Therapy (FT) is an integrated body-mind therapy.Methods: Twenty-eight pathological gamblers completed the FT protocol consisted in 16 sessions, two times a week for a total duration of two months, in an individual setting. No one of the patients was taking any psychopharmacological therapy. Psychological assessment both at baseline (T0) and at the end of the treament (T1) includes the South Oaks Gamb…
JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS AND FACIAL EMOTION RECOGNITION IMPAIRMENT IN FIRST EPISODE PSYCHOSIS ACROSS EUROPE
2018
Background Jumping to conclusions (JTC) is a well-established reasoning and data gathering bias found in patients with psychosis even at illness onset (First Episode Psychosis, FEP). Preliminary work in this field focused primarily on the association with delusions, although jumping to conclusions has also been found in non-deluded schizophrenia patients after remission, and in individual with at risk mental state. Moreover, psychotic patients tend to show impairments in social cognition, struggling in identifying, processing and interpreting social clues. Deficits in facial emotion recognition (FER) – a key component of the construct – represent a well-replicated finding in schizophrenia. …
T52. COGNITION, METACOGNITION AND SOCIAL COGNITION AFTER A FIRST EPISODE PSYCHOSIS. PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM A 5-YEAR-FOLLOW-UP STUDY
2020
Abstract Background Cognitive impairment is considered a core feature of psychotic disorders. Deficits in cognition, metacognition and social cognition have been reported to be correlated, and indeed predictors, of functional outcome or level of disability. Psychotic patients tend to present lower IQ and show impairment in specific cognitive domains, and in social cognition, than controls. Several studies have found deficits in facial emotion recognition (FER) and a higher prevalence of the jumping to conclusions (JTC) reasoning and data gathering biases among psychotic patients, even at time of illness onset, compared to controls. However, the trajectory of this impairment remains unclear.…
Better IQ but worse Premorbid Academic Adjustment in cannabis-users psychotic patients: another brick in the intuition
2016
Purpose: several studies report that patients with psychosis who used cannabis in their lifetime have a better cognitive performance than those who did not and this association is most likely due to a better premorbid functioning. We aimed to test the hypothesis of a better premorbid functioning in First Episode Psychosis (FEP) cannabis-using and non-using patients coming from different European countries. Materials and Methods: 1.745 people (746 cases; 999 healthy controls) completed the assessment for Intellectual Quotient (IQ) (WAIS-brief version) premorbid adjustment (Premorbid Adjustment Scale – PAS) and cannabis use (CEQ-Revised). We first obtained two main factors from PAS: “Premorbi…
Use of virtual reality to explore the decision making in obsessive–compulsive disorder and Parkinson’s disease
2013
Psicopatologia delle realtà virtuali e influenza sui movimenti religiosi del nuovo millennio
2006
L’azione dei farmaci antipsicotici atipici sul profilo dei sintomi cognitivi e negativi
2007
Il senso del paterno nella cultura postmoderna
2011
The EUropean Network of National Schizophrenia Networks Studying Gene-Environment Interactions (EU-GEI)
2020
Funder: FP7 Ideas: European Research Council; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100011199; Grant(s): HEALTH-F2-2010-241909
Studio longitudinale degli effetti della psicoterapia sulla funzionalità immunitaria in soggetti affetti da disturbo depressivo unipolare
2010
Transdiagnostic dimensions of psychopathology at first episode psychosis: findings from the multinational EU-GEI study.
2019
Background\ud The value of the nosological distinction between non-affective and affective psychosis has frequently been challenged. We aimed to investigate the transdiagnostic dimensional structure and associated characteristics of psychopathology at First Episode Psychosis (FEP). Regardless of diagnostic categories, we expected that positive symptoms occurred more frequently in ethnic minority groups and in more densely populated environments, and that negative symptoms were associated with indices of neurodevelopmental impairment.\ud \ud Method\ud This study included 2182 FEP individuals recruited across six countries, as part of the EUropean network of national schizophrenia networks st…
I suicidi rituali nella civiltà tecnologica: aspetti culturali tra science-fiction e new age
2007
Corpo d’amore, corpo di morte: vissuti somatici tra paradossi e complessità dell’esistere
2007
Tecnologie della Comunicazione e Percorsi Riabilitativi in Psichiatria
2007
Eventi di vita stressanti in un campione di pazienti affetti da psicosi all’esordio: prevalenza, sintomatologia ed età d’esordio
2011
Introduzione: Un consistente numero di studi suggerisce un’elevata prevalenza di eventi traumatici nella storia di soggetti con disturbi psicotici (Shevlin et al, 2008). Piu’ che l’impatto di un singolo evento di vita stressante, l’esposizione cumulativa ad esperienze traumatiche sembra incrementare il rischio di psicosi (van Winkel et al, 2008). Scopo dello studio e’ valutare la prevalenza di tali eventi in soggetti al primo episodio psicotico a confronto con controlli sani e la possibile correlazione con la sintomatologia psicotica e l’età di esordio. Metodologia: In atto sono stati reclutati 74 soggetti al primo episodio psicotico (51 m, 23 f; em=26.39, ds=9.36) e 27 controlli sani (18 m…
Il Gioco d'Azzardo Patologico
2009
Tra Ermes e Dioniso: culture dell’estremo e patologie dell’eccesso
2007
Bridging the gap between research into biological and psychosocial models of psychosis.
2015
Paul Bebbington's recent Special Article provides an excellent synthesis of recent advances in psychosocial research on psychosis. However, we doubt that a model based solely on social epidemiology and cognitive theory can totally describe psychosis, and to be fair, Bebbington does not suggest that it does. A complete model must also incorporate what we have learned from non-social epidemiology, neuroscience, and genetics. Evidence indicates that both the social risk factors that interest Bebbington and biological risk factors, such as abuse of stimulants and cannabis, can provoke psychotic symptoms by dysregulating striatal dopamine. The role of neurodevelopmental deviance also needs to be…
Profilo neuropsicologico dei pazienti al first-episode: variabilità della performance cognitiva tra sintomi positivi e negativi
2013
I fattori terapeutici in psicoterapia, tra teoria, modelli, tecnica e arte: l'importanza della personalità del terapeuta
2009
FATTORI CHE INFLUENZANO LA DURATA DI PSICOSI NON TRATTATA IN UN GRUPPO DI PAZIENTI ALL'ESORDIO PSICOTICO
2012
Il gioco d'azzardo patologico
2008
Il gioco d’azzardo rappresenta la più antica e studiata tra le dipendenze senza droga. Presente sin dalle epoche più antiche, negli anni è stato oggetto di numerose ricerche e di svariati modelli interpretativi (di matrice neurobiologica, psicodinamica, ecc.) rivolti alla conoscenza del gioco – anche nella sua variante tecnologica – come dipendenza comportamentale (con le caratteristiche condizioni di craving, tolleranza, assuefazione, astinenza), all’eziopatogenesi, alla comprensione della personalità del giocatore, con attenzione al giocatore adolescente. Vengono proposti, in particolare, l’inquadramento diagnostico del DSM IV, alcuni spunti interpretativi di matrice psicodinamica, il mod…
Effetti dell’uso di cannabis e sintomi psicopatologici in un campione di primi episodi psicotici
2014
Introduction: Cannabis is one of the most common substances used by patients with a first episode of psychosis. The aim of the study was to investigate the most frequent effects of cannabis use, their relationship with psychotic symptoms and characteristics of the consumption. Methods: 116 first episode psychosis were recruited, 50% of which (n=58) used cannabis lifetime. We investigated the characteristics of the consumption and the effects of cannabis using the Cannabis Experience Questionnaire-mv (CEQmv) and the psychotic symptoms using the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS). Results: The effects more often experienced by cannabis users were slowed down thinking and feeling to …
Assessment of Executive Functions in Patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by NeuroVR
2012
Executive functions are often impaired in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). We used a Virtual Reality (VR) version of the Multiple Errand Test (MET) inside a virtual supermarket, in order to evaluate the executive functions in daily life in 10 OCD patients and 10 controls. It is performed in a shopping setting where there are items to be bought and information to be obtained. The specific goal of this study was to implement a tool for the assessment of executive functions.
Effects of migration on women’s psychosocial health
2021
The aim of this chapter is to delineate the effects of migration on women’s psychological health, highlighting the burden that deciding on the journey and tackling the journey can determine at all stages of the migration process, underlining particular dangers women may be exposed. Broad aspects of gender and migration have been presented by Thara and Raman elsewhere in this volume (see Chapter 6), but here our focus is on the Mediterranean region.
Interaction between cannabis consumption and childhood abuse in psychotic disorders:preliminary findings on the role of different patterns of cannabi…
2014
Aim: Several studies have suggested that lifetime cannabis consumption and childhood abuse synergistically contribute to the risk for psychotic disorders. This study aimed to extend existing findings regarding an additive interaction between childhood abuse and lifetime cannabis use by investigating the moderating role of type and frequency of cannabis use. Methods: Up to 231 individuals presenting for the first time to mental health services with psychotic disorders and 214 unaffected population controls from South London, United Kingdom, were recruited as part of the Genetics and Psychosis study. Information about history of cannabis use was collected using the Cannabis Experiences Questi…
IL RUOLO DEGLI EVENTI TRAUMATICI E DELLO STRESS NELL’INSORGENZA DELLE DIPENDENZE COMPORTAMENTALI
2004
Psychosis onset: use of cannabis x COMT genotype interaction. A case-only design analysis in a first-episode psychosis sample.
2007
Childhood Maltreatment, Educational Attainment, and IQ: Findings From a Multicentric Case-control Study of First-episode Psychosis (EU-GEI).
2022
[Background and hypothesis] Evidence suggests that childhood maltreatment (ie, childhood abuse and childhood neglect) affects educational attainment and cognition. However, the association between childhood maltreatment and Intelligence Quotient (IQ) seems stronger among controls compared to people with psychosis. We hypothesised that: the association between childhood maltreatment and poor cognition would be stronger among community controls than among people with first-episode of psychosis (FEP); compared to abuse, neglect would show stronger associations with educational attainment and cognition; the association between childhood maltreatment and IQ would be partially accounted for by ot…
Una vita in gioco: determinanti psicopatologiche e aspetti psicodinamici dei giocatori long term
2010
L'approccio integrato antipsicotici-psicoterapia nel trattamento del disturbo Borderline di personalità
2009
Influenza delle variabili socio-demografiche sull’uso di internet in un gruppo di pazienti psichiatrici.
2012
Le dipendenze tecnologiche in adolescenza: aspetti teorici e dati di ricerca
2010
Traumi infantili in un campione di pazienti affetti da psicosi all’esordio: associazione con psicopatologia e funzioni cognitive. Risultati prelimina…
2011
Introduzione: Numerosi studi hanno evidenziato l’associazione tra traumi infantili e psicosi (Morgan, Fisher, 2007). Sebbene inizialmente fosse enfatizzato il ruolo dell’abuso sessuale, recentemente l’associazione con l’abuso fisico e’ stata riportata come piu’ forte (Fisher et al, 2010; Rubino et al, 2009). Scopi dello studio sono valutare la prevalenza di eventi avversi infantili in un campione di soggetti al primo episodio psicotico e la sua relazione con la psicopatologia e le funzioni cognitive. Metodologia: Sono stati reclutati 74 soggetti al primo episodio psicotico (51 m, 23 f; em=26.39, ds=9.36). Sono state somministrate le seguenti interviste e test: CECA-Q (Bifulco et al, 2005) p…
Profilo neuropsicologico in pazienti al first episode psychosis e nei familiari di primo grado: un'ipotesi di vulnerabilità genetica
2013
The copy number variant involving part of the α7 nicotinic receptor gene contains a polymorphic inversion.
2008
The alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor gene (CHRNA7) is located at 15q13-q14 in a region that is strongly linked to the P50 sensory gating deficit, an endophenotype of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Part of the gene is a copy number variant, due to a duplication of exons 5-10 and 3' sequence in CHRFAM7A, which is present in many but not all humans. Maps of this region show that the two genes are in opposite orientation in the individual mainly represented in the public access human DNA sequence database (Build 36), suggesting that an inversion had occurred since the duplication. We have used fluorescent in situ hybridization to investigate this putative inversion. Analysis of inte…
Psicoprofilassi ostetrica e depressione puerperale
2004
La riabilitazione delle funzioni cognitive dei pazienti schizofrenici attraverso l’uso della realtà virtuale: un’indagine pilota
2013
Social disadvantage and psychosis: a case control study on italian First-Episodes of Psychosis (FEP)
2014
Introduction: A growing body of literature suggests that people affected by psychotic disorders are more likely to be unemployed, tend to live alone, have a poor social network, and are not able to establish long-term relationships (Morgan et al., 2008). Aims: To investigate social disadvantage in a sample of first-episode of psychosis patients and geographically matched controls. Methods: The study sample consists of 52 healthy controls and 37 FEP who were assessed using the MRC Sociodemographic Schedules. Results: Preliminary results suggest that, consistently with the literature, cases are more exposed than controls to social disadvantage. They tend to reach a lower education degree (OR …
CLINICIAN-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP AND ADHERENCE TO TREATMENT
2011
PATIENT'S ADHERENCE TO TREATMENT IS STRONGLY RELATED TO CLINICIAN'S ABILITY.ROLE OF EMPATHY, OF COMMUNICATION'S SKILLS ARE NOT INVESTIGATED ENOUGH, EVEN IF ACCORDING TO PATIENT'S OPINION THESE ABILITY ARE MORE IMPORTANT OF TECHNICAL SKILLS.
Psicosi: integrazione della sintomatologia, ristrutturazione dell'Io, riorganizzazione del Sè
2015
clinical practice identifies the reactivation of reality testing as the most achievable and desirable aim in the healthcare-specialized treatment of psychosis. In summary, in the cases of psychotic onset and similar scenarios, a positive intervention is represented by those circumstances in wich the patient is able to regain his status quo ante the acute phase of the disorder. This phase, just to be clear, is the on throughout which the most representative symptoms, such as delusions and hallucinations, arise determining the dissociative state-. In addition, if during the reorganization of reality testing thethe patient is able to have a critical position relating to his acute state, and th…
Smoke High-Potency Cannabis and Become Psychotic Younger?
2016
PURPOSE: Cannabis use is associated with an earlier age of onset of psychosis (AOP). However, the reasons for this remain debated. METHODS: We applied a Cox proportional hazards model to 410 first-episode psychosis patients to investigate the association between gender, patterns of cannabis use, and AOP. RESULTS: Patients with a history of cannabis use presented with their first episode of psychosis at a younger age (mean years = 28.2, SD = 8.0; median years = 27.1) than those who never used cannabis (mean years = 31.4, SD = 9.9; median years = 30.0; hazard ratio [HR] = 1.42; 95% CI: 1.16-1.74; P < .001). This association remained significant after controlling for gender (HR = 1.39; 95% …
La Cannabis come fattore di rischio per i disturbi psicotici: uno studio su un campione italiano
2013
What does augment the risk to use cannabis on an everyday-basis in psychotic patients?
2017
Introduction There are strong enough evidences of the fact that risk of psychosis is augmented by cannabis use. In a recent analysis, the strongest predictor of case-control status was daily-skunk use, i.e. the ORs for skunk users increase with the frequency of use5. We know also that FEP who smoked cannabis in their lifetime are less neuropsychologically impaired i.e. they have better premorbid and current IQ6. In this study we wanted to test what augments the probability to be everyday users, taking into account premorbid social and academic adjustment and cognition as predictors, along with age at first cannabis-use and % of THC in cannabis used. Methods The sample was made of 834 First …
Alcol e malattie correlate
2013
The EUropean Network of National Schizophrenia Networks Studying Gene-Environment Interactions (EU-GEI): Incidence and First-Episode Case-Control Pro…
2020
Purpose: The EUropean Network of National Schizophrenia Networks Studying Gene-Environment Interactions (EU-GEI) study contains an unparalleled wealth of comprehensive data that allows for testing hypotheses about (1) variations in incidence within and between countries, including by urbanicity and minority ethnic groups; and (2) the role of multiple environmental and genetic risk factors, and their interactions, in the development of psychotic disorders. Methods: Between 2010 and 2015, we identified 2774 incident cases of psychotic disorders during 12.9 million person-years at risk, across 17 sites in 6 countries (UK, The Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy, and Brazil). Of the 2774 incident…
LE DIMENSIONI SIMBOLICHE DEL CINEMA DI FANTASCIENZA TRA DESIDERIO DI FUTURO E TECNOLOGIA DELLA VISIONE
2005
Autostima,sensation seeking e impulsività nell'uso problematico delle nuove tecnologie in adolescenza
2009
Better social but worse academic premorbid adjustment in cannabis-users psychotic patients across Europe
2016
Background: Several studies report that patients with psychosis who used cannabis have a better cognitive performance than those whodid not (Rabin et al. 2011). In a previous study we found out a higher premorbid IQ, and a better IQ in psychotic patients who smoked cannabis in their lifetime, and our findings were consistent with the idea that this association is due to a better premorbid functioning rather than to an ameliorative effect of cannabis use on cognitive performance (Ferraro et al., 2013). A number of authors have hypothesized that psychotic patients who consume cannabis constitute a differentiated subgroup of patients that have better cognitive and social skills, necessary to e…
Il modello cognitivo-comportamentale
2007
Internet addiction e comorbilità psichiatrica
2012
Effetti ed implicazioni affettivo-emotivi degli eventi autolesivi nell’ambito familiare
2007
Le fantasie perverse nella scelta del partner
2005
INCIDENCE OF PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS IN PALERMO: PRELIMINARY DATA
2012
Background: The incidence of psychotic disorders varies in different geographical areas (McGrath 2004). Recent data suggest that the incidence is higher in males, migrant minorities and in urban areas. There aren’t many available epidemiological data on the incidence of psychotic disorders in Italy. This is the first incidence study on psychotic disorders carried out in Palermo, the capital of Sicily. Methods: we screened all patients presenting with their first episode of psychosis to the mental health services of our catchment area (5 inpatient, 5 outpatient units and 3 private psychiatric hospitals) over a period of three years (2008-2011). The diagnosis of psychosis was defined using th…
Durata di psicosi non trattata e consumo di cannabis in un campione di pazienti al primo episodio psicotico
2011
Introduzione: la durata di psicosi non trattata (DUP) nei pazienti affetti da psicosi all’esordio rappresenta un fattore predittivo dell’outcome e del decorso del disturbo (Perkins, 2005). La relazione tra consumo di cannabis e DUP è ancora controversa. In questo lavoro viene analizzato il rapporto tra DUP ed età di esordio, consumo di cannabis, funzionamento cognitivo, livello di istruzione e stato di occupazione in un gruppo di pazienti affetti da psicosi all’esordio reclutati nell’ambito dello studio SGAP (Sicilian Genetic and Psychosis) svolto in collaborazione con l’Institute of Psychiatry, King's College of London. Metodologia: sono stati reclutati 74 pazienti di età compresa tra 18 e…
Eventi di vita stressanti in un campione di pazienti affetti da psicosi all’esordio: prevalenza, sintomatologia ed età d’esordio. Risultati prelimina…
2011
Modelli della riabilitazione psichiatrica e psicosociale.
2007
La Riabilitazione Psichiatrica e Psicosociale e il concetto di Qualità di Vita
2007
Consumo di cannabis e pattern psicopatologico di pazienti al primo episodio psicotico: confronto tra due campioni
2011
Alcuni studi in letteratura supportano l’associazione tra consumo di cannabis, età di esordio ed espressività psicopatologica nei pazienti al primo episodio psicotico (Orlandi, 2001). Questo lavoro si propone di analizzare la gravità della sintomatologia psicotica in relazione al consumo di cannabis, confrontando due campioni di pazienti all'esordio psicotico (FEP) reclutati a Palermo e a Londra.
geni psicosi e cannabis: caratteristiche di un campione siciliano rappresentativo di pazienti al primo episodio psicotico
2010
ADDITIVE INTERACTION BETWEEN LIFETIME CANNABIS USE AND CHILDHOOD TRAUMA IN INCREASING THE RISK FOR PSYCHOSIS. A REPLICATION ANALYSIS ON A SAMPLE OF F…
2012
Background: Additive interaction between childhood trauma and cannabis use in increasing risk for psychotic disorders has been recently demonstrated in a prospective (Harley et al., 2009) and a cross sectional study (Konigs et al., 2011), although not replicated in another survey (Kuepper et al., 2011). This study aimed to analyse additive interaction between lifetime cannabis and severe child abuse in increasing the risk for psychosis in a sample of first episode psychosis patients and geographically matched controls. In addition, analyses were re-run separately for males and females in order to investigate whether the association was moderated by gender. Methods: The sample consisted of 2…
TRANSDIAGNOSTIC SYMPTOM DIMENSIONS OF PSYCHOSIS AND THE PREDICTIVE ROLE OF PREMORBID ADJUSTMENT AND COGNITIVE CHARACTERISTICS IN THE MULTINATIONAL EU…
2020
Il problema della comorbilità
2008
Cannabis e Psicosi, un contributo di ricerca
2017
si descrivono i dati relativi ad un campioni di pazienti affetti da disturbo psicotico all'esordio, come parte del progetto SGAP (Sicilian Genetic and Psychosis. tra i fattori di rischio implicati nell'insorgenza del disturbo si prende in esame il ruolo del consumo di cannabis mettendo a confronto i pazienti con un gruppo di cntrollo costituito da soggetti non psicotici. Emerge come l'età media di insorgenza del disturbo psicotico è stata più precoce per coloro che avevano fumato cannabis nel corso della vita (24.2 anni vs. 31.6 anni) mentre non è stata riscontrata nessuna differenza in relazione all'uso recente di cannabis.
Ruolo di modulazione sulle funzioni cognitive dell’abuso di cannabis su un campione di soggetti al primo episodio psicotico
2011
Funzioni esecutive e riabilitazione residenziale. Studio preliminare su utenti in Strutture Residenziali Intermedie di Palermo
2013
lo studio ha confrontato le funzioni esecutive di pazienti con disturbi psicotici coinvolti in programmi riabilitativi in Strutture Residenziali di Palermo. Metodi: sono stati reclutati 16 utenti di Comunità Alloggio (CA) e 14 utenti di Comunità Terapeutiche Assistite (CTA), tra 18 e 65 anni, valutati tramite somministrazione di Trail Making Test(TMT), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), Stroop Test, 4 subtest della WAIS-R e Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Risultati: i due campioni presentano caratteristiche sociodemografiche omogenee. Gli utenti delle CTA fanno rilevare maggiore uso di neurolettici (73,3% vs. 18.8% p 0,004) e un trend non significat…
Creatività poetica e funzione simbolica
2007
La comorbilità delle dipendenze patologiche
2009
DUP AND CANNABIS CONSUMPTION IN A SICILIAN FIRST EPISODE PSYCHOTIC (FEP) SAMPLE
2011
Le tecniche riabilitative
2007
Nello specchio di narciso: dalla psicoanalisi alle neuroscienze
2007
L'IMMAGINARIO DELLA METROPOLI POST-MODERNA.
2007
Storia della riabilitazione psichiatrica e psicosociale
2007
Neuropsychological Assessment through NeuroVirtual Reality in OCD patients
2013
Psychosis onset: Use of Cannabis X COMT Interaction. Case-only Design analysis in a First-Episode Psychosis Sample.
2007
Dinamiche della blogosfera: dal sentimento comunitario emozionale alla psicopatologia
2007
Assessment of executive functions in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder by NeuroVirtual Reality
2012
Uno strumento di indagine per valutare i nuovi stili di comportamento adolescenziale: TSB (Tech Style Behavior).
2006
DOES POLYGENIC RISK SCORE FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA IMPACT ON JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS? PRELIMINARY FINDINGS FROM THE EU-GEI CASE-CONTROL STUDY
2019
Background: Jumping to conclusions (JTC) is a reasoning and data gathering bias that results in the tendency to require less evidence and make hasty decisions. Preliminary work on reasoning bias focused primarily on the association with delusions, although jumping to conclusions has also been found in non-deluded schizophrenia (SZ) patients. Literature to date has shown JTC as a well-established bias in psychosis even at First Episode Psychosis (FEP), after remission, and in individuals with at risk mental state. Furthermore, JTC has been found to be associated with proneness to psychotic-like experiences in the general population. In teresting findings showed also an association with lower…
Familiarità, psicosi e cannabis: caratteristiche di un campione siciliano di pazienti al primo episodio psicotico
2010
Ruolo dell'insight nell'espressività psicopatologica in un gruppo di pazienti affetti da psicosi all'esordio
2011
Una buona capacità di insight pare costituire un fattore predittivo di minore espressività psicopatologica nei pazienti affetti da psicosi. In questo lavoro intendiamo analizzare le relazioni tra grado di insight e gravità dei sintomi psicotici utilizzando i punteggi totali e parziali ottenuti alla Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) in un gruppo di pazienti affetti da psicosi all'esordio nell'ambito del progetto SGAP "Sicilian Genetic and Psychosis" svolto in collaborazione con il GAP Study dell'Institute of Psychiatry, King's College of London.